* Develop an EnScript that allows you to script EnCase from Python. (You can do this because EnScripts can run arbitrary DLLs. The EnScript calls the DLL. Each "return" from the DLL is a specific EnCase command to execute. The EnScript then re-enters the DLL.)

* Develop an EnScript that allows you to script EnCase from Python. (You can do this because EnScripts can run arbitrary DLLs. The EnScript calls the DLL. Each "return" from the DLL is a specific EnCase command to execute. The EnScript then re-enters the DLL.)

+

= Timeline analysis =

+

* Mapping differences and similarities in multiple versions of a system, e.g. those created by [[Windows Shadow Volumes]]

=Research Areas=

=Research Areas=

Revision as of 10:27, 23 August 2012

Interested in doing research in computer forensics? Looking for a master's topic, or just some ideas for a research paper? Here is our list. Please feel free to add your own ideas.

Many of these would make a nice master's project.

Programming Projects

Small-Sized Programming Projects

Modify bulk_extractor so that it can directly acquire a raw device under Windows. This requires replacing the current open function call with a CreateFile function call and using windows file handles.

Rewrite SleuthKit sorter in C++ to make it faster and more flexible.

Medium-Sized Programming Projects

Create a program that visualizes the contents of a file, sort of like hexedit, but with other features:

Create a method to detect NTFS-compressed cluster blocks on a disk (RAW data stream). A method could be to write a generic signature to detect the beginning of NTFS-compressed file segments on a disk. This method is useful in carving and scanning for textual strings.

Write a FUSE-based mounter for SleuthKit, so that disk images can be forensically mounted using TSK.

Modify SleuthKit's API so that the physical location on disk of compressed files can be learned.

Big Programming Projects

Develop a new carver with a plug-in architecture and support for fragment reassembly carving (see Carver 2.0 Planning Page).

Write a new timeline viewer that supports Logfile fusion (with offsets) and provides the ability to view the logfile in the frequency domain.

Correlation Engine:

Logfile correlation

Document identity identification

Correlation between stored data and intercept data

Online Social Network Analysis

Find and download in a forensically secure manner all of the information in a social network (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) associated with a targeted individual.

Determine who is searching for a targeted individual. This might be done with a honeypot, or documents with a tracking device in them, or some kind of covert Facebook App.

EnCase Enhancement

Develop an EnScript that allows you to script EnCase from Python. (You can do this because EnScripts can run arbitrary DLLs. The EnScript calls the DLL. Each "return" from the DLL is a specific EnCase command to execute. The EnScript then re-enters the DLL.)

Timeline analysis

Mapping differences and similarities in multiple versions of a system, e.g. those created by Windows Shadow Volumes